


Tripping

by BreakfastTea



Category: MacGyver (TV 2016)
Genre: Gen, Hallucinations, Hurt/Comfort, Non-Consensual Drug Use, Overdose, Protective Jack Dalton (MacGyver 2016)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-05
Updated: 2020-09-05
Packaged: 2021-03-07 02:21:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,981
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26309233
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BreakfastTea/pseuds/BreakfastTea
Summary: Mac has a bad run in with a human trafficker. Thankfully, Jack's there to see him through.
Comments: 28
Kudos: 81





	Tripping

**Author's Note:**

> *waves* This was inspired by a gifset on Tumblr from the amazing AnguishMacGyver ^_^ It was gonna be a nice, straight-forward lil snippet, and then I made it more complicated ^^;

They ran through the forest, feet pounding over the dead leaves. They’d left the target’s McMansion behind them, moving at top speed. Mac had gone full _Home Alone_ and turned a human trafficker’s lair into a trap, complete with an iron that dropped on a guard’s head thanks to the old school candle-burning-through-the-rope timer. What bad guys hadn’t been knocked out, trapped or shot by Jack had survived only to endure Mac’s last, grossest twist.

Much to Jack’s endless delight, Mac had used garden chemicals to create an explosion in the house’s plumbing system. It backwashed the entire system, including the septic tank, flooding the McMansion with literal shit, and sending the trafficker’s last few surviving rats fleeing. That was just a distraction so Riley could remotely download the trafficker’s harddive, giving Phoenix access to their sprawling criminal organization and the bastard’s bank accounts. They also knew now where the asshole kept his victims, meaning Matty and Bozer could coordinate FBI raids on properties across North Carolina, Georgia and Tennessee.

Somehow, the only person who hadn’t been taken out by one of Mac’s traps was the trafficker himself, Charlie Lawler. And now he was racing after Mac and Jack through the woodlands outside Asheville, North Carolina.

“I’m gonna kill you!” Lawler hollered. 

“Man, and I was hoping to go poking around in the Biltmore Estate,” Jack moaned.

“It’ll still be there for another day,” Mac called over his shoulder.

Rain filtered through the trees above, soaking through Mac and Jack’s clothes and turning the leaf mulch into an ice rink. Jack grabbed Mac as he flailed and skidded.

“For a guy who runs so much, you sure suck at staying on your feet,” Jack said.

“Thanks,” Mac said.

“Wanna know who you remind me of right now?” Jack asked, helping Mac regain his balance.

“No, but I am sure you’re gonna tell me,” Mac said.

“Bambi,” Jack said. “You’re all long limbs and wobbly knees.”

Mac just sighed.

Lawler shouted out from behind. “I see you!”

Jack risked a look over his shoulder, laughing hard. “Oh man, you should see that guy. Oh, or maybe not. Can’t have you falling ass over teakettle again.”

“Think he was near a bathroom when the plumbing blew?” Mac asked. Jack didn’t need to see the sly grin to hear it in his voice.

“Brother, I think he was on the shitter,” Jack said.

Mac’s laughter echoed across the forest. “Amazing.”

What wasn’t amazing was the moment Lawler raised a weapon. Jack pulled his own gun.

He didn’t manage to shoot first.

Lawler’s weapon was silenced. It fired, but Jack couldn’t tell where the bullet went. He shot back, more for cover and to scare the enemy into taking cover rather than in the hope of actually making contact.

“Ow,” Mac muttered, rubbing his neck.

“You hit?” Jack demanded.

“Only by an insect. Or a spider,” Mac said. “Crap, I think it’s in my shirt.”

Jack rolled his eyes. Only Mac would choose now to differentiate between creepy crawlies. “Bigger, deadlier problems right now.”

“North Carolina does have a number of poisonous…”

Jack tuned him out, instead shoving him behind a tree. They needed to take cover. Lawler was closing in, based on how much louder his ranting and raving had become. And the stench of him…

“Whoa,” Mac whispered. “That is eye watering.”

All the easier to take him out with.

“I want this bastard alive,” Matty said over comms. “If you’re planning on shooting him, disable him.”

“How alive?” Jack asked as the man in question kept ranting about the revenge he planned to have once he’d captured them.

“He’ll need to be able to talk,” Matty said.

“Kneecaps it is.” Jack ducked down, turned, spotted the vengeful idiot coming straight at them and put a bullet in his left knee. “Done.”

“Great. Bring him in,” Matty said.

“Say that again,” Jack said. “Hard to hear you over this asshole’s screamin’.”

“Don’t make him too comfortable,” Matty said.

Jack chuckled. “Wouldn’t dream of it.” He started walking back to the wailing trafficker. “Might need you to help this bastard stop bleeding,” he told Mac.

Mac didn’t answer. Frowning, Jack looked back in time to see Mac hit the ground. Hard. Jack ran to him, heart racing at the sight of Mac senseless on the ground. “Hey!” He shook Mac hard. No response. “Shit. Matty, I’ve got a problem. Mac’s out.”

“What the hell happened?” Matty demanded over comms.

“I dunno,” Jack said. The screaming trafficker faded from his mind as he reached out, seeking Mac’s pulse. He remembered to breathe when he found it. He found something else, caught just beneath Mac’s collar. “Dammit.”

“What?” Matty asked.

Jack pulled a thin dart out of Mac’s shirt. “Drugged.”

“That’s not good,” Bozer’s voice hit the comms. “This guy was known to give his victims a combination of sedatives and Benadryl to control them. It caused nasty hallucinations. In high enough doses, it can cause death.”

Jack glared at the writhing bastard.

“Change of plan,” Matty said. “Leave Lawler to rot once you’re sure he won’t bleed out. I’ll send the local sheriff’s department to scrape him off the forest floor. Get Mac out of there. Go back to the compound and steal a vehicle.”

“And then get to the nearest hospital,” Bozer said.

“Copy that,” Jack said.

Jack ran back to Lawler. Lawler smirked despite the blood loss and his obvious agony. “Your buddy’s in for a hell of a trip.”

Jack punched the guy out, partly to wipe the look off his face but mostly because he didn’t want to hear anymore gloating from someone profiting off misery and torture. He used Lawler’s own shirt to staunch the bleeding, patted him down to remove any more weapons, and then decided his pants would make a good restraint. Leaving him tied to a tree, Jack went back to Mac. He crouched at Mac’s side. “Mac? Mac!”

No response.

“You sure we’re alone out here?” Jack asked the others over comms.

“As best I can tell, you’re clear,” Riley said. “There’s a bunch of cars parked outside the house but it doesn’t look like anyone’s near them. Take your pick. None of the guards you took out are moving.”

“We’ve got the sheriff’s department incoming to round everyone up, but get out of there before they arrive,” Matty said.

“Yeah, don’t let them waste your time,” Riley said. “Get Mac to hospital.”

Jack scooped Mac off the ground, cradling him as best he could. He tucked Mac’s head under his chin. “On it.”

Thankfully, they hadn’t gone that far from the McMansion. Mac didn’t stir once. Jack held him close, relying on the others to give him a heads up if anyone came their way. Thankfully, their path remained clear and they reached the driveway. The scent of crap wafted out of the house.

“Damn, Mac, you should be glad you can’t smell that.”

No one attacked when Jack spotted the largest Range Rover and eased Mac onto the backseat. Placing Mac in the recovery position and strapping him in with both seatbelts, Jack checked Mac’s breathing, found it slow and steady. It wasn’t much of a relief, but Jack would take what he could get. “We’re getting out of here,” he told the others.

“Great,” Riley said. “I’ve got a hospital for you. Matty even knows someone working there in the ER.”

“Doctor Pursey,” Matty said. “Ex-CIA. I’ll contact her and make sure she knows to expect you.”

Jack jumped into the driver’s seat, thanked his lucky stars an idiot had left the keys in the ignition, and hit the gas. “Alright, we’re moving,” he said. “Tell me which way to go.”

With Riley filling in the role of GPS, Jack screeched out of the driveway and headed for the nearest hospital.

* * *

Warbling, distant voices broke through the darkness. Mac jolted awake, heart pounding. He looked around, wondering why the hell he was in a hospital bed. His head throbbed, his mouth dried out. He kicked against the bedsheets, needing to escape. His skin prickled, feeling unpleasantly alive. He looked down.

And saw them.

Hundreds of them.

Spiders.

So many spiders.

Swarming over him.

The skin on his left arm bulged and split open, tiny black spiders erupting out.

“Get off! Get off!” He clawed at his skin but they just kept coming and coming and –

Hands clamped around his face, moving his head. “Hey!” It was Jack, his eyes brimming with concern. “Calm down, Mac. You’re safe.”

Mac pushed him away. “Don’t! Don’t touch me. They’ll get on you too!”

Everywhere. They were everywhere! On him, crawling on him, spewing from inside him. Shower. He needed water. Wash them off. Drown them. He tried to get out of bed, but Jack wouldn’t let him.

“Listen to me. What you’re seeing isn’t real. You’re hallucinating.” He grabbed Mac’s hands. Held them tight. Stopped him from getting the spiders off. “Look at me.”

Mac refused. He was covered. Covered! How could Jack not see them? How could he – “Get them off me!”

Jack pulled him into his arms. “You need to calm down. Breathe. You were drugged. What you’re seeing isn’t real.”

Seeing? He could feel them! Thousands of legs beating against his skin. “Jack, please,” Mac said, his voice muffled. “I need a shower. I have to get them off!” They were in his hair, under his clothes. What if they crawled back inside his body, eating him from the inside out? He tried to push away again, but Jack just held on that much tighter.

“Would I ever lie about something like this?” Jack asked, his voice calm and measured. “No. I would not. You’re safe. I swear it. I need you to take a breath, okay? Can you do that?”

Mac did what he was asked. “But –” He could still feel them.

“No buts. Just breathe.”

Mac breathed.

“There ya go.”

“What’s happening to me?” Mac asked. He kept his eyes squeezed shut, focusing everything on Jack’s voice, Jack’s presence.

“You’re having the worst trip of your life,” Jack said.

“Are they gone?” Mac asked. “The spiders?”

“I know it’s hard to believe right now, but they were never there,” Jack said. “You were drugged. You’ve been out for hours. Think you must’ve had some nasty dreams before you came to, but those nightmares followed you back.”

Heat built in Mac’s body. He needed to cool down. It was making it hard for him to breathe. “Lemme go. Too hot.”

“Okay. Doctor Pursey said your body temperature’s gonna be up and down for a while. Lie back. How ‘bout you keep your eyes closed?”

Mac couldn’t close his eyes. The spiders might come back. He kept breathing, kept quiet. If he did that, and nothing else, maybe they wouldn’t move again. Because he could still see them. Not on him now. In the shadows of the hospital room. Gathered. Waiting to swarm.

“I’m gonna get the doctor,” Jack said, standing. “She’ll wanna check you over now you’re awake.”

“You gotta be quiet,” Mac told him, refusing to tear his eyes off even the faintest scrap of shadow in the room. “They’re waiting. They don’t like the noise.”

Jack left silently, sliding out of the room. Mac clung to the bedsheets beneath him, his body restless. His legs felt weirdly empty, like he needed to stretch to fill them up. His feet twitched. He needed to move, but he couldn’t get out of the room. Not with the spiders everywhere. In the shadows. At the edges of his vision. Waiting. Lurking. They wouldn’t let him out, no matter how jittery his whole body felt.

The door opened again. Jack came back in, a middle-aged doctor right behind him. She had long grey hair pulled back into a bun. But something wasn’t right with her eyes. No, not just her eyes. Her whole face fuzzed and changed, expressions overlaying each other like double-exposures.

“It’s good to see you awake,” she said.

Her treacherous face said otherwise.

Mac dared to look away from the shadows to Jack.

His face was wrong too. Mac jerked back. The real Jack had been here, but he’d left, and this fake had come in his place.

“Just stay calm,” the doctor said. “I know you must feel very strange right now, but you’re perfectly safe.”

Liar! She was pretending to care. He could see the smirk beneath her other expression.

“Mac?” The fake Jack sounded so real. Mac knew that tone too. It was Jack’s – the real Jack’s – way of telling him to not do something stupid.

Too bad. Mac knew he had to escape. He’d have to risk the spiders in the shadows. Mac pushed himself up, making a break for the door. Something tore at his arm. He didn’t care. He had to go. Had to get away. Not Jack. Not a doctor. Spiders. Danger surrounded him. He had to get away before –

Hands grabbed him. Pushed him back.

“No! Get off me!” Mac fought hard, fists lashing out. He felt his right hand connect with something, but then the fake Jack had hold of both his hands and wouldn’t let go. Mac tried kicking, but the fake doctor was there, holding his legs down. Mac bucked against their grips, but he couldn’t break free. “Get off me! I have to find Jack!”

“I’m right here, Mac. You know it’s me.”

But the fake was just a distraction. The shadows moved again. They were coming. The spiders.

And then the room tilted. Flipped backwards. Suddenly, the door was above him, taunting him. The spiders descended on their webs. And Mac couldn’t get away. He shouted and writhed, but he had no escape.

The door opened. A person with a shifting faced came in. They walked down the wall, defying gravity. Mac’s spinning head revolted at the idea. Not possible. Couldn’t be. And yet there it was. Real. Happening. In front of him.

The fake person had a syringe. Mac watched them plug it into the IV port in his elbow, injecting something into him. He tried to twist away, but the fakes had him pinned down.

And he was so hot. Too hot. Smothered by a blanket of tiny black spiders in a room that had to be an oven.

And what had these fuckers done to Jack? He’d fight them. He’d… he’d… he’d find something to blow them up with if they didn’t tell him… didn’t… didn’t tell him where…

“Where’s Jack?” His voice slurred. The world seemed to slur too, everything blurring.

“I’m here, Mac. It’s me.”

Wasn’t. Wasn’t Jack.

Mac tried to move again, but lethargy infected him. His eyes blinked. Heavy. Too heavy. Couldn’t… couldn’t keep them…

No! Mac wrenched them open. His vision smeared into a riot of light, shadow and color.

“Once he’s calmed down, we’ll need restraints,” the fake doctor said from the other end of the bed.

They’d won. Tears of frustration filled his eyes. Mac fell back against the bed. He passed out, not knowing what he’d wake up to next time.

* * *

Jack fell back into his chair, hoping he’d get a hold of his emotions before Doctor Pursey and her team finished checking Mac over. Because in the rush to keep Mac in bed, Jack hadn’t even noticed more people coming in. He’d just waited until the drugs kicked in and knocked Mac out, then let the medical staff take over.

Pressing his hands to his forehead, Jack pulled in a deep breath. He never, ever, wanted to experience that again. Mac wasn’t just hallucinating – he was delirious. Anger bled through Jack’s horror. Jack curled his hands into fists. If he ever saw that piece of shit Lawler again, the bastard would lose another kneecap.

By the time Doctor Pursey was finished, Mac was tucked up safe and sound again, his wrists and legs in restraints. The others filed out. Jack looked up at Doctor Pursey. “How is he?” he asked.

“About what I’d expect for someone with such a high dose of diphenhydramine in their system,” she said.

“Benadryl?” Jack confirmed.

“As it’s known on the street,” Pursey said. “I’ve dosed him with a benzodiazepine to manage the delirium. He certainly came out fighting!” She smiled. “He nearly had us, but we’ve secured him, his vitals are relatively stable, and thankfully he hasn’t done himself too much harm after almost dislodging his IV.”

Jack couldn’t help smiling at the woman’s cheery attitude. If she was like this, then Mac would be okay. “How long will he be out?”

“Long enough for the hallucinations to pass, I hope,” she said. “His temperature’s elevated too, so we’ll monitor that. One of the nurses will be bringing in some cold compresses. Hopefully this was the worst of it.”

“Those were some nasty hallucinations,” Jack said. “He was having nightmares before he came to. Thought him waking up would be better for him. Guess not, huh?”

“The hallucinations are common, I’m afraid,” she said. “But he’s young and healthy and you got him to us quickly.” She reached over, patting Jack’s shoulder. “He’ll be fine.”

The door opened and a nurse walked in. He placed a cooling cloth over Mac’s forehead and disappeared again.

“Press the call button if anything happens,” Doctor Pursey said. “Especially if he comes to ready to take out the entire department again.”

With that, she headed out. Jack stood, moving closer to Mac. He was frowning hard even in his sleep. Probably trying to solve some enormous equation. Jack gave his hand a squeeze. “You just sleep until that big head of yours is all cleared out of nasty imaginary spiders and whatever the hell else you thought was happening.”

Jack felt his phone vibrate in his pocket. Pulling it out, he saw Matty’s name onscreen. “Hey,” he said, keeping his voice low. “Sorry. It’s been kinda crazy here.”

“How’s Mac?” Matty asked.

“Sleeping,” Jack said, retreating to his chair. “He came to a little while ago but, ah…” Emotions choked him.

“Jack?” Matty sounded even more concerned.

“Yeah. I’m here. Sorry. He was out of his head. Seeing all kindsa crazy stuff. He tried to run, so the doctor here had to put him out to keep him safe. And, if I’m being totally honest –”

“– one of your finest qualities,” Matty teased.

Jack laughed. “Right. Well, if I’m being totally honest, they put him down before he fought off everyone in the room.”

“Are you okay?” Matty asked.

“Yeah, of course.” Jack knew he’d earned a few bruises from the effort of keeping Mac in bed, but it was nothing to cry about. “How about the bastard that did this to him?”

“He’s gonna have a limp for the rest of his life,” Matty said. “More importantly, we’ve located everyone he was trafficking and we’re getting them to safety. You did good work. Both of you.”

“So did you guys,” Jack said. “Another great team effort.”

“Oh, and the FBI are at the house. They’re demanding Phoenix reimburse them for the hazmat suits and decontamination equipment they’ve had to bring in due to, and I quote, ‘unexpected levels of human waste coating the entire property’.”

Jack laughed out loud. “Mac really didn’t hold back on that one.”

“No, he did not,” Matty said. “You keep an eye on him, okay?”

“You got it, boss,” Jack said.

Ending the call, Jack returned to his chair. He gratefully accepted coffee and food brought to him by the nursing staff as the hours wore on. Mac slept on, his legs and arms twitching restlessly, his expression never fully relaxed. He mumbled and muttered, everything non-sensical. Jack pulled the chair right up to Mac’s side, holding his hand and hoping that was something to ground him. Jack talked too, about everything and nothing, until he slumped back in the chair and fell asleep himself.

* * *

Mac stirred, blinking his eyes open. It took his frazzled brain a minute to work out what he was looking at. Hospital room. Bed with the side rails pulled up. Jack asleep in the chair, head tipped back and snoring. Mac felt a warmth holding his right hand, looked down and saw Jack’s hand holding his.

That was when he saw the restraints. The panic was slow to stir. Everything was slow. He felt dazed. Half asleep. He wanted to rub his face, but he couldn’t move. Huh. Weird. Had something happened? He remembered dreaming. He remembered a lot of dreaming. Weird dreams. Spiders and faces and the room spinning and –

He tugged Jack’s hand. Jack snapped awake, eyes immediately landing on Mac. “Hey!” he said, a smile breaking out across his face. “How you feeling?”

“Uh…” How was he feeling? “Weird. Kinda… slow?”

“Yeah, you’re a little spacey,” Jack said. “But, and don’t take this the wrong way, you still seeing anything you shouldn’t be? Spiders or…”

“You know about the spiders?” Mac asked, vaguely wondering why his voice sounded so weirdly high-pitched.

“We all know about the spiders,” Jack said.

“Huh?” Mac didn’t get it. He kinda didn’t get anything right now. Was he drunk? He felt drunk... “Were we at a bar?”

“Nah, this wasn’t alcohol’s fault.” Jack reached over, ruffling Mac’s hair. “You got hit with an overdose. Benadryl. You slept for, like eleven billionty hours, then came to convinced there were spiders everywhere and I’d been replaced by a fake.”

Mac felt his eyes going wide. “Oh.” He felt his memory scratching at him. “So the room didn’t tip over?”

“Nope. That was all in your head.”

“Huh.”

“Yeah.”

“What’s with the restraints?” Mac asked through a jaw-popping yawn.

“Those are because someone decided to try and escape,” Jack said.

Mac shrank. “Me?”

Jack stared at him.

“Me,” Mac said. “Sorry.”

“I’ll get the doctor in here, see about letting you go.”

“Go home?

“Wow, Mac, no way. Not yet. Let you out of the restraints.”

“Sounds good,” Mac said. His limbs felt weird. Twitchy. A feeling he usually associated with having had way too much caffeine. He stretched as best he could to alleviate the feeling. “How long?”

“Have you been here? Uh…” Jack pulled his phone out. “Coming up on twenty-four hours.”

Mac frowned at the ceiling, trying to separate dreams and reality. “Did I…” he trailed off.

“What?”

“Blow up a septic tank?”

Jack laughed. “Yes, brother, you did. That was all real.” He reached over and pressed the call button. “You even managed to upset the FBI with that little stunt.”

Mac smiled. “Oops.”

Doctor Pursey came in. Mac listened to her explanation, nodded when he needed to, and promised that he absolutely definitely didn’t see anything weird. No spiders. No weird faces. No tilting rooms. The only things wrong with him were the restless legs and his brain being stuck at half speed. Still, she was happy that he was no longer delusional and released him from the restraints. Happy to sit upright, Mac accepted a drink of water and the doctor’s promise that if he was okay after a few more hours of observation, he would be discharged.

“Wanna get some more sleep?” Jack asked.

“Nah,” Mac said. “Wanna watch something.”

“Like what?”

Mac smirked. “Home Alone.”

Jack pulled out his phone and found the requested movie. Mac slid over to make room for Jack on the bed, and together they watched the first ten minutes of the movie.

When Doctor Pursey came in an hour later to check on her patient, she found him, and Jack, fast asleep in the bed. She pulled out her phone, took a photo, and sent it to one Matty Webber. They went way back, after all.

Her phone pinged with an incoming message. _Thanks for taking care of them._

Doctor Pursey smiled. _Anytime,_ she texted back.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you so much for reading ❤
> 
> You can find me over on [Tumblr](https://breakfastteatime.tumblr.com/) 👍


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